Today so far

It’s another nice day along the river, cool with a breeze. There is always something marvel at, whether a giant ship gliding up to port or on its way out to sea, the jumping fish that leave expanding concentric circles in the water, or the beautiful clouds that don’t collect over a city. The cool wildlife sighting earlier today was the two hawks soaring around grandly in the white sky. I have developed such an appreciation for the river and all that is natural around it. When I no longer have this nice gallery, I can still come to the river anytime I like, since it is only a mile away - by car. As the hawk flies, it’s probably a half mile at most. For some reason, when I bought my house here I had no idea it was so close to the river. Speaking of marveling, I think of how unaware and immature I have been about so many things. 

And speaking of no longer having the gallery, my days are numbered. I told the guy in charge that I do not want to re-up. Like everything else it has it ups and downs with magic moments and boring hours. I stuck it out for almost two years! But I am losing interest, getting older, and don’t like being restricted four to five days a week. I want to be free! Other than that, I don’t know what I’ll do. 

tonight's sunset

 

Thanksgiving is a special day

 * As to the previous post, the lizards have not come back since I put coffee grounds in the mailbox. Can't say that I miss them.

Thanksgiving is two days away, and I will be joining the family at Peter and Sally's house in the country. We will be missing the hubby who Jacob once called "the best eater," but we have a new family member, Jacob's wife. Life is always changing. There are some new goats and chickens, too. 

We may have a group of about twenty, and as usual, I will be bringing homemade rolls. I have never followed a recipe, but they have always turned out pretty good. It's been a year since I made them, and I practically forgot how! But it all came back, even though these are a little messier than usual. I am probably producing about fifty, and unlike previous years when I arose early to bake so they would be nice and fresh, these are going in the freezer until I leave on Thursday morning. I am bringing a couple of side dishes as well, and everyone is bringing something. It will be a feast. 

Like celebrating the concept of love on Valentine's Day, it is good to have a day to celebrate the concept of gratitude, thankfulness, as we are doing this week. The Bible is full of admonitions to be thankful. When we give thanks, whether publicly, privately, or just feel it in our hearts, we are being obedient to the One who made us and knows us best. It is also necessary for good physical and mental health. 

Life in the mailbox

Every time I open the mailbox, I am greeted buy a cheery little lizard (anole) and his tiny frog friend who is usually clinging to the inside of the door. Back and forth, he goes. An unfortunate event from couple of years ago made me think I should tape a note to the door to warn the mailman of the little occupants and to open with care. Sadly back then, a lizard was smashed in the door. It was tragic to see his dangling, lifeless body, and I do not have my man around now for such emergencies. In order to keep the ads from piling up, I needed to get the contents, i.e. ads, out of my mailbox, so I tapped on the metal door and carefully pulled it down. There was the tiny frog in his usual place, but not just one but three lizards were scurrying around! Party time! 

Little anoles have always been in Wilmington, and I like them. When they are in the mailbox they are a dull brown, not the bright green like they are outside in nature. But never in my life have I seen little green tree frogs until this year. Yesterday one was in my toilet, not swimming but in the rim. I saw him hop out and into the shower, and after that, he was off to places unknown. Like the anole, the tiny mailbox frog camouflages into a dull brown when he is at rest in the mailbox. Sometimes I see their shapes on the windows outside at night.

However, now I need to find a way to make the mailbox uninhabitable for them. 

Pic of the Day

One of Wilmington's tugboats. 

Still in The Word

Now I am in Isaiah. I have really loved reading the Bible through sort of rapidly. One person told me she would have a hard time doing it because she didn't understand it. Does anyone deeply understand except for the most divinely inspired and learned Biblical scholar? 

If I were going to tackle this lengthy read, I would make it interesting and enjoyable, I decided. So I am reading from different versions using the printed word, my iPad, and occasionally using an audio app. It also helps that I have read at least something in the Bible most days out of the past seventy years, so many parts are not only familiar but recitable and loved.  "Like apples of gold in a setting of silver," (from Proverbs.) But maybe the biggest key for making it work for me is all the  church/worship/gospel music I have sung. Most Christian music is from the Bible, some word for word. For many years I sang in Handel's Messiah, and Isaiah 40 that I just read is the foundation for several of its choruses and solos. 

When I finish the remaining twenty-six chapters of Isaiah, I will start the wordiest book of the Bible, Jeremiah. After that, I will feel like I am home free. I enjoy getting the big picture as I fly over. 

A thought of the day

One thought of many

It’s not that I can’t think of anything to blog about, it’s that I think of too much. I guess that’s how it is when your responsibilities and activities decrease. The mind becomes more reflective and analytical. 

After reading Rob’s autobiography, I felt challenged to read the Bible through in a month. So I am speed reading God’s word to mankind as if it were a book! Today I am in Deuteronomy, and I just read this:

 10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Isn’t that the truth! Have we ever learned anything?

Find the butterflies.

The lantana behind the gallery were filled with butterflies today. Some seemed camouflaged in the bright colors.  Can you spot them?

Nature Lover

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my meanderings along the river today.

The underside of a big beautiful mushroom.

Because I like B/W. 

One of the wiggly movements and little daisy like flowers that grow in the water.

Rowers at sunset.

Moon rises over the electric towers, or whatever they are. 

thoughts

Surely at the top of the list of most boring jobs is working in an art gallery. But it is my job, and I persist. Responsibility has its downside. After several slow days, today ended up being good. And what made it so? Not just the small sale but the nice people who visited, and the evening.

It was close to 7 pm when I locked up for the day. As I walked to the car, I looked toward the river where a gorgeous pink-orange range of colors in the sky was repeating itself on the water, and I was beckoned to come closer. 

The river is extraordinary on its own, especially in the way the sun causes it to change colors. When I was there at midday yesterday a woman said to me, "Look how the water is sparkling like diamonds." At that time, the shimmering lights were playing off the midrange blue of the water. On other days, when the sun is behind a cloud and the sky is dark, the old Cape Fear can be a somber black. Sometimes it is gray or a deep blue-green. Tonight for a short while, the color of the water was the same color that the sun left in the sky on its descent over the distant islet of trees, and the small gathering treated it as a holy experience. A beautiful sight from nature seems as if we are let in on an eternal secret. 

This is with my iPhone, not at the height of its splendor, and not true to the beautiful true colors. 

Fort Fisher

What a beautiful day it has been! I wanted to see the beach so I took the easy drive down to the end of 421. I would go to the tide pool I thought, but I was unpleasantly surprised to find parking meters in the sand by the wooden walkway. What nerve! Ten dollars? No way. So I drove on, finding a spot at the big rocks near the picnic area in Ft Fisher. I walked to the left which was new to me, and it was filled with pretty sights. (Top pic.) Maybe it will be my new favorite place. 

Rain and more rain

The “flood of the century” came not too long after I moved here, but the last three days seemed to have been a repeat. Dark skies! Loud house-shaking thunder! Flash floods! Yesterday I was thinking I should postpone my necessary small trips and duties until a brighter, drier day. Really? What had become of me? Was I turning into a sissy? Where was my courage hiding? I had never before considered staying in because of weather. I loved a challenge! 

After the hubby died, I lost strength. I realized that because he was so strong, I drew strength from him. He was also a port in the storm, a safety net. I have not been fearful since he has been gone, just older and more cautious, less bold. Mulling this over, I saw the bad weather as an opportunity to get out there and take courage. It was a small thing but necessary. 

When my stepdaughters came to live with me, they were afraid of the dark. I used to tell them that the same God who takes care of them during the day, takes care of them during the night. Same with storms. He is still with me in the storms as well as in quiet times, and whether I have my human safety net or not.  

geese at sunset

Still lovin' the Canada geese.

TV

For many reasons, I stopped watching television a few years ago, and I still haven't missed it. 

But a month or two ago, Peter hooked up an antenna for my idle tv and got the free stations for me. It hasn't been bad. There is one news/public interest station that, unlike the others, is not commie propaganda and is informative on many levels. I have also watched some old black and white westerns that I enjoyed. As I ate my suppertime nachos this evening, I watched an episode from 1957 of Tales of Wells Fargo. I am old enough to remember when it was a regular show that I watched with my daddy on Sunday evenings, I think it was. Like the rest of the country, my daddy liked westerns, and I enjoyed being with my daddy  

Today I saw the show from the perspective of the old woman and retired psych nurse that I am, and I have some comments to make: The women dressed modestly and appreciated a sincere compliment from a man. There was a clear difference between good and bad. The bad guys were not the good guys. Dale's character displayed wisdom and confidence, and he took time to figure out the situation. He wasn’t driven by anger or revenge but by justice and doing right. The townspeople were glad when the good guys won. At the end of the show, Dale spoke words that could have come straight from Aesop. Today he concluded, “A man is like a rope. He’s only as strong as its thinnest part." Love a good moral to a story. 

Awesome event of the day

Before leaving the gallery today, I decided to walk down to the river and get a few steps in. There are several routes I can take, and today I chose the one that goes to the short fishing pier. At the end of it I saw folks fishing, a white haired, barefoot white man on the right side and a black couple fishing off the end. The man offered me a friendly greeting, then said, "God has given us a beautiful day." Indeed it was beautiful with a break from the intense humidity, a blue sky full of pretty clouds, and the river running a rich deep blue. The three fishing people had been fishing for a while and had gotten to know each other. He said to me, “She’s a spiritual woman.”  I replied with something like as long as the spirit is from Jesus. Then the conversation among the four of us turned worshipful. The woman quoted some Bible verses and said how wonderful it is to be in the family of God. We all started proclaiming God's sovereignty and our thankfulness. The white man said, “I’m Catholic but I believe in Jesus and the Trinity.” He talked about how there are forces trying to divide us, and everyone agreed that we are not divided. Pretty soon the woman spotted a rainbow, some pretty colors coming through the clouds. She said God wanted to show he was listening; that he wanted to manifest himself to us. As I left, they said, “Pray for America, the land of the free for now.”  

Social History

When I studied history in school, I remember it largely being about leaders, wars, empires, and dates, but I wondered about the people, the average people like me. What were their lives like while the wars, revolutions and changes were going on all around them. How did they survive? They must have, I presumed, because the world continued to be populated. So I found things to read that settled somewhere in my broad big picture thinking.

My generation has been living through many big changes. Over the years I remember hearing threats by Communist leaders who clearly stated they would destroy America from within, without a visible war. Now it is easy to see how they have done it. While we were comfortably resting in our little worlds, the enemy of America was at work through the public schools, the media, government, even churches, conditioning all of us and especially children to accept the tenets of communism without our being aware of their tactics. It eased its way into culture in the form of immorality, ripping away the underpinnings of society. It perverted truth that is from God. It assailed our minds causing unhealthy emotions and selfish desires. Evil has been patient and has worked us over. To me the culmination was in the takeover of the last presidential election. It was a revolution. Did that really happen in America? Yes. 

Only God knows what will happen in any part of the world, but for many Americans it is life as usual. If this is indeed a revolution we are living through, many of us are indifferent, plodding along through our daily duties, keeping up with trends, living our lives, seeming to accept those things that are beyond control. I can’t predict how this time we are in will be evaluated by the writers of history, if we happen survive. One of these days people may wonder what the styles were, the language, the diet, the work during this era? How did we live during the vast changes around us? 

emu

 just wanted to get one of the emu pics out to the world

Unidentified Flower

 Is it a morning glory? Maybe a marsh flower? Whatever, it was a UF find when I went searching for something interesting to photograph around the river today.

A Good Day

It's a good day when I get to stay home, chill out, and catch up. Today one of the things I did was repot a peace lily I got about a year ago when it was little. Its life with me was spent at the gallery where it responded nicely to my good care, becoming pretty and full, and eventually too full. It was time to intervene. When I wrested it from the pot, I saw these long and twisted roots! I tugged, and trimmed, and added soil, and gave the three parts new homes. Another plant event of the day concerned the bromeliad someone gave me a few weeks ago. I have left it on the screened in porch where the humidity is high, and it has taken off. Today I noticed deep in the top leaves, a tiny splash of color. My camera proved my suspicion that it is blooming! It's nice to have these free days for such things.

Goat Family Portrait

 

Independence Day

 

Rediscovering Shrimp

 Sometimes I forget that I don't have to go to the coast to get shrimp because I am already here! One way to fix it is in a creole sauce and scooped over jasmine rice. So good.

two white egrets and one snowy

 

A rare find

During my outing on Monday I stopped by Marshall’s to see if there was something I had to have. Normally I don’t check out the shoes there because my size is on none of the boxes, but this day I did. One aisle was nothing but strappy sandals, so I was drawn in. And, lucky me, I found a pair a size down and tried them on. They fit snug but well. My mind burst into a happy feeling. Eureka! The Snoopy happy dance was going on inside of me. It was wonderful! I was proud I could maintain my public composure. 

I didn’t realize that such a small and worldly thing could refresh my good feelings the way buying that pair of shoes did. It was worth the twenty dollars. 

Pretty Flowers from Today's Outing

 

my other two faves from a week or two ago

baby bunny being fed with dropper

rims

 

of interest but not a fan

This was taken on Monday when I was at CB. My friend and I were walking to the beach and saw several clues indicating a movie was being filmed.  We asked one of the guys hanging around, and our suspicions were confirmed. Netflix was at work. I wonder which of the deadly sins will be most prominent in this movie. A gallery visitor from California on Saturday said Hollywood is, but using a less genteel word, a cesspool.

redwing blackbirds and friends

 

There is a lot going on here.

I’ve been studying Romans

 

tonight's sunset on the river

Also looks like Wilmington

These are considered Ghost Trees, bald cypress trees that did not do well when salt water was introduced into the dark freshwater in which they lived. 

Looks like Wilmington

doberman retrieving tennis ball in river

 

Hydrangeas bloom in May

step by step

I find it interesting to drive by this road construction place almost daily and observe. It looks as if one worker may be actually doing something while others are standing around idly, but that's probably not the case. Paving this small section of road is one shovelful of asphalt (I presume) after another, then rolling, and whatever else, until the space is covered and people are able to drive in the new additional lane. Like that saying I often repeat in my head when I have work to do, inch by inch, life's a cinch. One little thing after another adds up to a big accomplishment.

 

Field of Dandelions

 From the car window.

the work I do now

 It has felt like a long week of nursing, but instead it was gallery owner duty for seven straight days. Now the place is pretty once again. This is a pic of the side of one of the movable walls that is the first things visitors see. The fish piece in the middle has been in the gallery since the beginning but never in a good space. I hope this will show it off better.  

Fountain 7 pm

 

Reflection

 My POTD is of a ceramic/pottery bottle that I got in the gallery yesterday.  It has a crystal (I think) glaze and reflects like a mirror. You can see me taking a picture, as well as the windows, chairs, etc. It is one of seven lovely pieces I got from the potter.  Other new artwork is coming in too, and yesterday was a work day as we hung and rearranged. The place looks so pretty when it is refreshed.

They call it growth

Like everything else, Wilmington is always changing. About a mile away from my little neighborhood, the land is being prepared for a big grocery store and adjacent businesses that will open in 2022. It's interesting just to pass by and be aware of some of the things that need to be done before the actual building goes up. All the prep work! This is from my car window today. (Obviously no editing done.)

Pelican grooming station

An interesting thing I learned since being on the river is that it has high and low tides like the beach. Today at the time this photo was taken, the water had receded more than I had ever seen. It revealed some islets that I had never seen along with this occasionally seen sand bar where pelicans were waiting for menhaden, which I heard is their favorite meal. Also interesting is how blue the sun makes the river at midday and how far my camera can zoom.